Hungry for the Cure.

(Mickey Mouse during the opening ceremony!)

A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to do a 5K with some of my friends.  It was a walk to benefit a cure for AIDS.  The best part, aside from the obvious good cause, was that it was held in the Disneyland parks.   You know me and my Disneyland obsession...  I couldn't pass it up!

(Cassie, Jaime and Steph setting the pace.)

(Team Hungry for the Cure: Me, Ryan, Steph, Cassie, Jaime and Rachel)

We met at my house at 6:15 am and met up at the parking structure.  I've never been to the park so early!  We walked from the parking structure, taking the tram route, to Main Street in Disneyland.  As we walked along the tram route, we read interesting facts about AIDS that mostly pertained to Southern California.

(Let the walk begin!)

The opening ceremony was set up at the end of Main Street and we had a few speakers, including Mickey Mouse, open the walk for us.  Sadly, the sound system wasn't that great so we barely heard a word that was said.  After about 20 minutes or so, the walk began.  We walked towards Frontierland where we were greeted by The Princess and the Frog characters.  Too cute that a lot of characters were out to cheer us on!  we made our way past Thunder Mountain Railroad with Chip and Dale and on to Fantasyland.  Next we went through the castle doors to turn around and see Flora, Fauna and Merryweather from Sleeping Beauty up on the balcony waving to us.  My favorite part was when we passed Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) and Prince Phillip and I asked for a picture.  The girl that was with them replied with, "I'm sorry but no, they're just her to encourage you."  Bwahahahaha!!!  I laughed so hard at that!  AND they were the only ones that wouldn't take pictures with the walkers!  Even Darth Vader and his Storm Troopers took pictures in Tomorrowland!

(Flora, Fauna and Merryweather, the fairies from Sleeping Beauty, my favorite Disney movie of all time.)

Next we walk back down Main Street and over to California Adventure where we got to go backstage in a few areas.  There were a few more characters "encouraging" us on, and it just made me giggle with joy!  I love that they were there to encourage us on this 5K, which translates to about 3.2 miles, lol!  As we we about 3/4 done we were greeted by a gay mens chorus singing Abba's "Super Trooper" and they were fantastic!  I couldn't help but dance as I walked!  It was so much fun!

(Minnie, Daisy, Donald and Pluto encouraging us as we exit Disneyland and move on to California Adventure.)

Not only was this walk for a wonderful cause in one of my favorite places in the world, but it was with some great friends!  We had such a great time we're planning our next walk for Alzheimer awareness.  What a great way to spend the morning with your friends!  I look forward to doing more!